It was a privilege to be invited to speak at a recent Recovery Connections event in my Middlesbrough & Thornaby East constituency, bringing together so many brilliant people in our community who are reshaping how we understand and support recovery.
We know that need is high and complex in our area, and that recovery services play a critically important role in supporting people and families touched by addiction. Every life lost to addiction is a tragedy, and every step we can take to encourage people to access help and support must be a priority.
I was asked to speak about public leadership, the wider civic impacts of recovery, and why recovery matters politically.
Creating positive impact through recovery services
Previously we had visited the same Linthorpe Road cafe space with the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee and the superb academic work of Teesside University colleagues in analysing and evaluating the world leading Heroin Addiction Treatment programme.
The Scottish Government took full recognition of the work in Middlesbrough and changed their policies and programmes as a result and our friend the entertaining academic – Professor David Best – told of how he spoke of the wealth of knowledge and expertise in Middlesbrough and celebrated its work across the globe.
So yes, supporting recovery services is central to our responsibilities as public leaders. Recovery does not happen in isolation — it happens in communities, and it requires leadership that is prepared to champion compassion, evidence, and inclusion.
In Middlesbrough, we have seen how strong civic leadership can embed recovery into the fabric of the town. Our wonderful Mayor, Chris Cooke, signed the Inclusive Recovery Cities Charter on his very first full day in office — a clear signal that recovery is not a side project, but a core local priority.
I made reference to one of the exquisite funding streams provided by our first Police and Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger, recycling proceeds of crime money into the programme which itself vastly reduced the crime and repeat offending of substance misusers being of such benefit to town centre businesses plagued by the shoplifting that was an integral part of the funding for substance misuse.
And the evidence is clear: when recovery is well supported, it reduces pressure on emergency services, criminal justice systems, children’s services, and homelessness support. In Middlesbrough’s work as an Inclusive Recovery City, we see that recovery is not only about individual transformation – it is a driver of community regeneration.
Investing goes beyond recovery
When we invest in recovery, we invest in reducing long-term public costs while improving wellbeing across the whole town. The Inclusive Recovery Model reinforces the idea that recovery is everyone’s business, and everyone benefits when it succeeds.
Leadership also means following the evidence. Recovery is more sustainable when communities remove barriers and promote harm reduction, dignity, and inclusion.
I have been privileged to meet many of the people delivering these vital services, and many of those accessing them. Their courage is extraordinary. But courage alone is not enough; services must be properly funded, properly staffed, and rooted in evidence-based approaches.
That means removing barriers to treatment. It means prioritising harm reduction over punitive, abstinence-only models. It means focusing on saving lives first.
Inclusive approaches bring people into support rather than pushing them to the margins — and they reduce drug-related deaths and crime as a result.
Recovery matters politically because it reflects the kind of society we want to build.
When we champion recovery, we demonstrate a belief that society should not give up on people. We show that everyone deserves dignity, opportunity, and hope.
Recovery enriches our towns. It strengthens our institutions and our economy. It builds safer, kinder, more cohesive communities.
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